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Winter is cold in Juneau. More so if you live in a tent. And that warm fuzzy feeling that comes with the holiday? Not so much if you have no family and no home.
Such is the situation for many of Juneau’s homeless population.
As of the most recent Point In Time count, done on Jan. 24, there are 562 Juneau residents who are homeless. This number includes 200 students in Juneau’s school district.
Vicki Shenefield has lived in Juneau for most of the last 10 years. She has been homeless the entire time.
“It’s hard,” Shenefield said. “It is very hard on people.”
The 30-year-old has been on the streets in Alaska and in her home state of Indiana on and off for the last two decades. She said she has suffered abuse by a family member. She is epileptic and has a loyal service dog named Hercules. Shenefield lives on $239 a month in food stamps.
“How do you live off of $239 a month?” Shenefield asked. And to confound the problem of food, Shenefield must buy more expensive pre-made food as she does not have access to even a camp fire.
Until Friday morning at 5 a.m. when she and her companions were evicted from their site near downtown, Shenefield lived, rain or shine, snow and wind, in a hand-made tent-like shelter.
“We built a structure around us,” Shenefield said “But it didn’t work very well.”
Shenefield said they were not allowed to start a fire. How does she beat the cold?
“Blankets, layers and body heat,” Shenefield said.
Now that they’ve left their camp site Shenefield said they are still unsure what they’ll do next. During the interview Shenefield and Hercules were staying warm at the Glory Hole.
Shenefield said being homeless during the holidays is difficult even though her home life growing up was abusive. She said just finding a comfortable place to spend some quite time is nearly impossible. However, she does find solace in the downtown Library.
“I like to study,” Shenefield said. Her specialty is volcanology.
People might be surprised that not all homeless people drink or do drugs, Shenefield said.
“Don’t judge the homeless people,” Shenefield said. “You could be wrong.” She said the reaction from some people when they realize she is homeless is difficult to deal with.
The causes of homelessness are many and complex. Mental health, a criminal record, substance abuse, past physical abuse and trauma and good old fashioned momentary bad luck and life choices are just some of the factors that can push a person to the street — mental health issues taking a large percentage of the blame. However, Juneau’s homeless population is homeless not only for financial, or mental health reasons. The same housing crisis that affects middle-income families looking for reasonable rent or mortgages and businesses trying to bring talent to town and upwardly mobile residents who want to upgrade their homes, this same housing crisis also affects those in search of almost any warm place to call home.
Juneau’s housing shortage results in at worst a longer wait time and higher-than-average mortgage for the more fortunate homebuyers. For the less fortunate it manifests as a life on the streets or in shelters.
Many people with vouchers go weeks or months looking for a place,” said Kiel Renick outreach coordinator with the Glory Hole “Some look so long they have to turn their voucher back in.”
Renick’s position at the Glory Hole allows him to work with homeless to find housing. However the successes are hard to come by.
“It is a lot more filling out applications than moving people in,” Renick laments.
Even with state and federal assistance, Juneau’s homeless are hard pressed to find housing in the current market.
“You can’t find a place to rent with a $1,200 disability check. It doesn’t go to the extent of finding people housing, it goes to the extent of giving them a check.”
Even though there are several places in town that house homeless in different situations and for different reasons, it doesn’t mean the homeless can find room, Renick said. Seekers of many of these services, from housing vouchers to youth and senior housing services, face long waiting lists.
“To have no option and to believe that you will have no option in the future,” Renick said. “That is a real and often times painful-to-being-traumatic mental experience.”
The Glory Hole provided 52,357 meals in 2011 along with nearly 10,000 uses of its dormitory beds.
Juneau has many services set up to lend a hand to its homeless population. That population runs from kids in school to septuagenarians and older.
Sergeant Chris Gifford of the Juneau Police Department spoke a little about the department’s work with homeless downtown.
Gifford said JPD uses grant money to hire two police officers for a specific downtown beat. Lt. Dave Campbell supervises Officers Nicholas Garza and Thomas Penrose as they serve the downtown area.
“They are doing a full-time service that all of our officers would like to do more,” Gifford said. And that is “try to be a resource to people who need us in the downtown area: homeless, business owners and residents.”
However, this sets up competing interests, Gifford said. The goal is to enforce everyone’s rights, he said.
“It takes a special type of person to do that job,” Gifford said.
The Juneau Homeless Coalition plans to hold its annual Project Homeless Connect on Jan. 28, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Centennial Hall.
Attendees can receive on-the-spot goods and services that include health care, haircuts, housing assistance, job placement, food, foot massage and others. Homeless Connect assisted hundreds of people during the last two one-day events.
Other Juneau organizations working on local homelessness include the Juneau Economic Development Council, St. Vincent de Paul, Juneau Youth Services, Aiding Women In Abuse and Rape Emergencies Inc., Alaska Housing Development Corporation, Gastineau Human Services, United Way of Southeast Alaska, Juneau Police Department, Southeast Alaska Independent Living among many others.
• Contact reporter Russell Stigall at 523-2276 or at russell.stigall@juneauempire.com.
Comments (82)
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It’s funny there are at least two places in town that I have seen that are empty CCS has building by the care-a-van office that use to be apartments but now sits empty and there are a number of empty trailers in the valley ??? yet there is a housing shortage?
I'm usually very soft on these issues but...
I have called 911 two times in one week because a very intoxicated homeless woman was trying to break into the church next to my house. Trying every door one night and then apparently walking off. The next night I dropped my jaw in aww as she did the same thing yet this time made entry. This church also serves as a daycare and his children dropped off early in the morning. Not what I would want my children to see at 7:00 is a drunk person sleeping in the nap room.
I was concerned because she seemed so insistent to get out of the cold that the first night, I feared for the safety of my young children because she couldn't seem to get into the church. About 3 days later as I was walking from Annie Kails I saw this woman( she was a very distinctive black coat) drinking downtown at 2:30 with two other men. There are a lot of options for the homeless in Juneau, especially for down and out women if they can just get help for their substance abuse problems. I think that homelessness and substance abuse too often go hand in hand and both issues need to be addressed.
I'm not a cold judgemental person by any means. My hopes both nights that I called 911 were that JPD would pick her up and take her to either lccc to sleep it off or Rainforest Recovery. I understand it's cold out there. The problem is that the drinking makes some people inelidgeable for aware and glory hole beds. It's also a problem that churches are being broke into and possibly even people's garages and homes because people are not abiding by the rules set forth by the available shelters in Juneau that would if not assure them a warm bed, surely give them some better options.
Just a little food for thought.
The solution to homelessness
The solution to homelessness is not driving down home values of the working middle class in Juneau!
Lets not put this issue on the backs of those of us in Juneau that have our noses to the grindstone trying to pay our mortgages on the OLDER homes they we all bought in the $175,000. to $300,000. range.
If CBJ wants to help the homeless and make deals with those in the housing industry then build an apartment building for low income people - this is the ONLY solution that I support.
I do not support CBJ helping build NEW homes for low income people that are in the $175,000.00 - $300,000.00 range.
New homes in Juneau should start at $300,000.00 not $175,000.00
White picket fence
Russell,
We all know that the JE does not pay well, but that does not give you an excuse to keep writting about the lack of affordable housing in Juneau. That is your problem and not everyone else's problem.
The poor will always get their Section 8 housing vouchers after jumping through some hoops and doing some time on the wait list.
So let's get honest. This is about you - the working poor. Your career choice has brought you to Juneau and you work for a company that does not pay well and there is little chance of that ever changing. Your dreams of owning a home with a white picket fence are gone because of your choices and now you want to blame the community for not having affordable housing. Maybe you should move - I heard South Chicago has affordable housing available.
There are people that move
There are people that move here all of the time for the benefits Juneau provides. We have become a destination for people that are down and out.
I agree we need some services to take care of our residents that end up in trouble. We should not offer so much assistance that people move here just for those benefits.
This is a difficult balance to provide needed services without being excessive.
Tickets to Nowhere and a solution?
@YukonJack and LibHater
The tickets to another state was practiced by many states. The west coast states, mostly, sent them here. Well, to Ketchikan and Anchorage for the most part back in the 80s.
But honestly, I question the number of 562 homeless. If that is true then 15 out of every 1000 people in our community are homeless. Were these numbers included in the housing shortage numbers? If they were than the solution does seem simple enough. Send them south... housing shortage fixed... homeless problem fixed... cheap solution.
Next with no homeless in town the JPD could re-assign the downtown officers to crime prevention or to be armed custodians at our schools. With less homeless the local count of nut jobs drops and then so does the higher risk of gun free shooting gallery incidents by these homeless nutjobs.
This could be a win win ground breaking idea.
Class action lawsuit comes
Class action lawsuit comes to mind.
I would think that CBJ would have to "make-whole” any home owner that experienced a decline in their home values because of an action taken by CBJ.
I remember back when Palin and Parnell pushed for the capital to move. There was a hold harmless or make whole bill introduced just for the legislators whereby they would be compensated for the loss in property values if the capital moved.
Blue ticket
I believe was practiced into the 80's having lived in Ketchikan at the time. I believe it was an option given by the state/city to those who were Repeat criminals, For those charged with heinous crimes. They say get on the ferry get the hell out don't come back. I remember a long time ago a character named Broncho Billy got a blue ticket. But it was a long time ago I don't have my memories clear.
Although maybe the state can provide a program to send people south who want to go
Question
How many of you are going to pay for an online subscription next week when they begin their program at the Juneau Empire?
They will simply return. I would wager a large % of homeless
arrivals to Alaska do so because of much stiffer competition for underpasses, intersections and street corners in the lower 48. Winter is tough everywhere but if it's only the weather likely to kill you there are greener pastures half the year if one can make it through.
I have said it before, but
I have said it before, but solving a large portion of the homeless problem in Juneau is simple. Of course, we have our homegrown homeless--people who grew up here and have always been part of the community (I went to school with a few of them). However, I would wager that the majority of the homeless are not real Juneauites, but rather transients who have stumbled into town from wherever--like the individual described in the opening of this article. I would also wager that most of these "transients" arrived in Southeast Alaska via the Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham. If we were to relocate the southern terminus of the ferry system to a port in southern British Columbia, we would then be able to utilize the Canadian border as a filter system to keep out these people. Of course, no system is 100% foolproof, but it would assist in keeping a good number of these kinds of people out of our community.
For those bliss-ninnies out there who find my views to be cold-hearted, I say that I have no issues with your taking care of the needs of the homeless. Nor do I feel anything but compassion for those people who are without a place to live.
high paying job
who can afford to live in Juneau? A minimum of $3000. a month and that translates before taxes to about $5000. gross; Those are some big numbers, I wonder how many people in juneau make that kind of money, - not me. I could afford a trailer; how's that for an alaska dream buster.
@seadog55
Not sure yet. Paying so people can insult each other is a new concept for me. I guess we'll see on Jan. 1st.
@aka
To answer your question, many people do. They do it: some the old fashion way and get an education and work for it, some develop businesses, many will marry and combine income and struggle through apartment living, then a trailer and finally a starter home and so on.
Does everyone make it to home ownership? No. We will never achieve that. It is economically impossible I believe. If you do not fit into any of the groups mentioned above then you might join one and maybe you too can taste the dream.
Sleeping in Seattle
Lets open the library and Assembly chambers for these folks to use at night---warm downtown space that's unused. They do it that way on cold nights in Seattle.....
Just for the fun of it
Most people who read the blogs do so just for the fun of seeing how far those of us who participate will go. It's a good thing most contributors are anonymous for the sake of your blood relatives, but we know you all by your sign-ons. And, boy, do we know you!
@GJSmith:
While you were the unlucky soul who inspired me to write this, please don't feel singled out. It is directed at everyone who deserves it, and I think you all know who you are.
Your comments directed to the reporter are so far out of line that I cannot let them go without saying so. You are right that the Empire does not pay well. THINK ABOUT IT! You read your news free on line.
Mr. Stigall's career and life choices are nobody's business but his own, same as yours and mine. Independent news has historically played an important role in keeping the rest of us informed about the actions of the powerful. It might not be much, but it's all we have to protect the majority in this so-called democracy of ours.
And how do you think they bring news to us. It costs money. When the Empire has gone the way of raphus cucullatus, we will be the ones left to figure out for ourselves what is happening. It's not perfect, but it's the best thing this community is willing and able to support.
You and some of the other regular contributors would be great at writing editorials, but when the Empire shuts down for good, I hope you have given some thought to how you are going to find as good a platform as this one for sharing your wisdom with the rest of us.
Let's talk about Russell's writing for a minute. I'm sure you could write circles around him, but you don't. You sit there with your laptop on your knees crafting your pithy repartee, delivering what you want when you want to. There are no assignments and no deadlines. You write about what you think you know (without independent sources or research).
How long have you been living in Juneau? I'll bet you've been here long enough to know the players. Russell is somewhere near the sixth reporter to join the Empire in the last three years. The money is likely not the primary motivator any more than the PFD lured you to move here. As in centuries passed, the young and the adventuresome arrive from the lower 48 in hopes of learning the ropes and developing their skills.
What courage! They don't know who is who or what has happened before they arrived. New reporters attend long and sometimes tedious meetings that last well into the night and then have to produce something worth reading on a deadline. I have seen all of them make mistakes. Russell's error Friday ... an $11.5 mm appraisal vs a $1.15 mm assessed value, was a $10 million stinker. But he had the courage to admit to his mistake and correct it publicly. I see him TRYING to improve his skills. We should all work so hard, and so publicly, in the service of something bigger than our own egos.
But your most myopic gap in synaptic transfer from brain to keyboard is the idea that people who are not paid well should leave town! My WORD!! Do you understand anything about economic development and healthy community? We are counting on young people coming here to take on the jobs the financially stable would not accept on a bet. Those jobs don't pay well, but they are a start. Kind of like your first job, I'm betting.
Our young people are looking for a place to start their march toward a brighter future and if they are successful, we all are better off for it. We need to invest our efforts in patient supportive feedback if we ever hope to share in their success.
These young people are perfectly mobile. If we treat them with disdain, looking down our collective noses at those who haven't "made it" yet, they are perfectly capable of taking the skills they have learned under our careful or caviler tutelage to Chicago, as you suggest, or any other community where opportunity awaits.
Try to be a little more thoughtful before you lob cheap shots. I know you can think of something good to say if you just give it a little more effort.
@RuthDanner
Thank you Ruth; Very thoughtful and you are right. Many of us can be pious.
Bye the way, we live in a Republic and practice democracy, I believe...
I just pass by GJ.........
I'll also thank Ruth and thank you Mr. Stigall for the work you do. I hope you learn from the constructive criticism you and the staff receive and learn how to ignore the vindictive comments. Several past Empire staff members have gone on to significant careers both in and out of the journalist field and I'm sure several look back at that isolated small town they once called home. I hope they all enjoy their time in Juneau!!
Answers about affordable housing
It's easy to be confused and frustrated by this perpetual problem. Why doesn't somebody do something to fix this?
If you have questions about the 562 homeless, or where they come from, check out the report from last Spring's Vulnerability Study at https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=3dd467...
Half of the 562 are single parents and their children and seniors without generous pensions. Most of us do not find fault with them. We don't have to look too far into our own lives or those of people close to us to be understanding of their situation.
If you are interested in the 55 or so identified as chronically homeless, according to the Vulnerability Study above, 75% of respondents were born, went to school, have worked, or have family in Juneau. 87% report living in Juneau year-round.
If you want to know more about Affordability in Juneau, you can check out the report on Juneau Economic Development Counsel's website at http://www.jedc.org/sites/default/files/2012%20Juneau%20Housing%20Needs%...
Best regards.
@AKJustice
Of course. You're right about the proper use of Republic and democracy. The word I originally intended to complete that thought was Oligarchy.
Thanks!
@AKJustice
Of course. You're right about the proper use of Republic and democracy. The word I originally intended to complete that thought was Oligarchy.
Thanks!
Thanks Ruth
That was a good cuff upside the collective head of the commenteer class here.
I don't have any answers to the homeless population here in Juneau, but I suspect many of us are a lot closer to being in their circumstances that we realize or would like to admit. A serious illness in your family depletes your life savings if you don't have adequate (or any) insurance coverage. Maybe a bout of mental illness. Maybe you get in a car accident and are sued for everything you have. Who knows?
The edge is a lot closer than you realize.
Ms. Danner, very timely and most welcome.
I have found the JE staff to be very professional. Kudos.
Placing one's face, name and opinion into the limelight of public scrutiny is not for the mild. The journalist's journey is fraught with scrutiny second only to citizen politicians upon whom they report. Both rise above the crowd and in the process subject themselves to very public criticism. Not something anonymous bloggers are willing to put on the line. (Though I doubt they are as concerned about relatives as they are about their own skins.)
It takes fortitude, conviction and resilience to venture forth into such an arena and no one leaves unscarred.
Lest we forget, Ben Franklin did his best work under pseudonyms. Then again he was subject to the crown's wrath. His best works are remembered for substance, not for some anonymous jibe designed around being the quickest blogger in the room.
I would point out this blogger segment provides a very unique avenue for comment. In most metropolitan cities one would be filtering through thousands of anonymous comments every day to satisfy one's need for inclusion much less dialogue. Enjoy it.
@ ken
Talk about straight shoot'en!
You got a permit for the thing?
Akjustice: Yes, JE has granted me the permit.
btw: thank you.
Homeless
As long as you provide services for homeless people, you will have homeless people. Build it and they will stay. Downtown business have a horrible time in dealing with some of these folks and the problem is "we" aren't doing enough, or doing too much. The more you do, the more will stay. The working poor here have a hard time, and I have empathy for them but Juneau is a hard place to live if you don't have some healthy source of income.
We all feel like we need to do something, but in doing something we create a welcoming atmosphere that attracts and retains more. What to do..
Roger: You make a valid point. "Build it and they will stay."
But there is an undercurrent to the 'build it' scenario.
The dynamics of the 'homeless' are as varied as the 'family unit'.
Many do not reach out. Many are concerned that admitting some 'inability to provide' will result in the 'system' separating family members. And it happens more regularly than we care to admit. Adults can manage on their own. Children, on the other hand, are removed. The human drive to keep the family together is stronger than any social drive acting in the child's best interest. Mom and/or Dad will stay off the radar.
In my mind 'building it' will not invite those most in need to stay unless it is done under the auspices of the charitable, and we know who they are.
Keep the government out of it.
Most
Most of the so called 300K houses in this town are worth about 60K. Everybody knows it but they just go along with the insanity because everybody put blinders on like a bunch of sheep and pushed the cart down the road.
A new bond? Baaahhhhhhh
A stupid project we don't need ? Baaahhhhhhh
Let the politicians and special interest get way with the goods because you can't be bothered ? Baaahhhhhhh
That's OK the coming recession caused by workers who can't afford to live here will straighten out the math on all these wonderful "300K" carpenter ant infested mold boxes we call houses in this town.
Enjoy the ride down. I'll be yelling from the bleachers. Especially with the attitude some of the "haves" have in this town.
Sometimes the old ways are the best.
Ken, your points about charity sans the government has merit. The churches used to most of the charity stuff. We seem to have less of it too as I recall. Sounds like the war on poverty started by the Johnson administration has gone the way of the war on drugs...
AKjustice: I did not reference churches. I referenced those
most willing to provide shelter. Actually you were more resistant to providing shelter. "Build it and they will stay."
My point was obviously lost upon you.
I have brought the 'homeless' into my own over the course of several decades. I found them to be most appreciative. (Yes, I hid the family jewels.) The hardest part was asking them to leave.
If I saw a family stranded on Juneau's streets I would be the first to offer shelter. If I were to get a stranded call I would be compelled to answer. My wife and I have on several occasions.
The "charity stuff" is not reserved for the church.
Humanity, on the other hand, appears to be a bit distant from the common blogger.